Beauty

Photo courtesy of Trunk Archive

Megan Tries It

A Tinted Face Oil for
People Who Hate Foundation

Megan O’Neill is the senior beauty editor at goop. Which is another way of saying she has a passion for clean products, loves anything that reduces stress, and will happily guinea pig herself in the name of wellness.

I used to have acne so eruptive that more than once I got off the subway a stop early to avoid running into someone I knew. I avoided well-lit stores. I’d grab dinner only with best friends or family members, because to sit in such close proximity to a non-inner-circle person was unimaginable.

I was furious at my skin, and furious at my biological mechanisms for being so faulty, causing a constant state of stress that I’m sure further fueled my breakouts. The most unforgivable part, to me, was that my complexion took this turn for the worse when I was a full-fledged dating, working, blossoming adult, not some moody, hormonal teen.

A combination of rigorous sessions with an Ayurvedic doctor (he had me glug a cumin-celery-root concoction daily, which made warts spring up all over my body, apparently a sign that the detox was working), going on birth control, and limiting processed foods finally assuaged the seemingly endless cycle of breakouts after about two years. But dark spots, lots of them, remained, speckling my face.

Sometimes I camouflaged them with foundation. But mostly I left the house barefaced, aside from my favorite face oil. I strongly dislike the weight of foundation on my skin. Even the super light ones are just not for me. I fully appreciate that foundation works: It temporarily conceals my spots. But it makes me feel encumbered, like there’s something shackling my skin. Because real-life skin—its texture, its subtle medley of undertones—is incomparable, even when flecked with dark spots.

So I was plenty skeptical about Tinted Face Oil from Kosas. But I was also deeply compelled by its name. (I am forever fiendishly in love with face oil.) It’s pigmented like a foundation, but everything else about it is full-on luxurious face oil. The formula is silky, spiked with green tea, rose hip, jojoba, and meadowfoam oils, so it nourishes as it softens the look of my marks. (I oscillate between a shade 9 and 10.) All I need is a drop—seriously the tiniest amount works absolute magic—and it melts in like no foundation ever has for me, becoming one with my skin and casting a vivacious warmth.

I massage in that tiny smidge of Kosas on days when I have noticeable marks from a recent breakout or whenever I feel a little ashen/unrested and need a touch of luminosity to carry me through the day. It’s the best secret weapon in my bag, whether it’s a day at the office, a weekend BBQ, or a wedding. I never feel hampered by it the way I always used to feel when I wore foundation. On the contrary, I’d go so far as to say I feel shimmering with life.

These are the musings and opinions of Megan O’Neill based on her own personal experience. Individual responses can vary greatly.